Listen "Why TikTok matters"
Episode Synopsis
This week, Sean talks with Emily Baker-White, author of Every Screen on the Planet, about why TikTok feels uniquely addictive, how it turned social media into a push-not-pull entertainment feed, and what happens when human editors inside the company can override the algorithm.
A few days after they spoke, TikTok was in the headlines again. So they jumped on a follow-up call to unpack the latest twists in the saga of who will ultimately control the app's US-operations.
Host: Sean Illing (@SeanIlling)
Guest: Emily Baker-White, reporter and author of Every Screen on the Planet: The War Over TikTok
The Gray Area has been nominated for a Signal Listener’s Choice Award. Vote for The Gray Area here: https://vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting#/2025/shows/genre/thought-leadership
We’d love to hear from you. Email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at 1-800-214-5749. Your questions and feedback help us make a better show.
Watch full episodes of The Gray Area on YouTube.
Listen ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
A few days after they spoke, TikTok was in the headlines again. So they jumped on a follow-up call to unpack the latest twists in the saga of who will ultimately control the app's US-operations.
Host: Sean Illing (@SeanIlling)
Guest: Emily Baker-White, reporter and author of Every Screen on the Planet: The War Over TikTok
The Gray Area has been nominated for a Signal Listener’s Choice Award. Vote for The Gray Area here: https://vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting#/2025/shows/genre/thought-leadership
We’d love to hear from you. Email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at 1-800-214-5749. Your questions and feedback help us make a better show.
Watch full episodes of The Gray Area on YouTube.
Listen ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
More episodes of the podcast The Gray Area with Sean Illing
It’s okay to not be okay
22/12/2025
Forgiveness is optional
15/12/2025
The pornification of everything
08/12/2025
What counts as progress?
01/12/2025
How to survive awkward encounters
17/11/2025
Truth in an age of doublethink
10/11/2025
The case against free will
03/11/2025
What the climate story gets wrong
27/10/2025
The Great Enshittening
20/10/2025
America chose violence. Now what?
13/10/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.